'I must retire immediately': Banks resigns, Welsh named acting president of Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp announced the departure of Dr. Katherine Banks as president of the university on July 21.

Banks, the university’s 26th president, elected to retire immediately due to “challenges” surrounding another faculty member citing “negative press” that has been a distraction from the “wonderful work” being done at the university, according to a press release.

“The recent challenges regarding Dr. McElroy have made it clear to me that I must retire immediately,” Banks stated in her resignation letter to Sharp.

The announcement comes after the Faculty Senate passed a resolution to create a fact-finding committee into the “mishandling” of the hiring of Dr. Kathleen McElroy, a University of Texas professor, former New York Times journalist and graduate of Texas A&M University, the release stated.

In June, the university announced the hiring of McElroy to revive the school’s journalism program, but that fell apart as details of the job offer changed from “a position with the possibility of tenure to a one-year professor of practice appointment, with the option to renew,” according to the release.

Banks denied knowing about the changes in the job offer but took responsibility for a “flawed hiring process” after several media reports suggested McElroy was a victim of “anti-woke” hysteria and outside interference in the faculty hiring process, the release stated.

Retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Mark Welsh III, the dean of the Bush School of Government will serve as the acting president.

Welsh served four decades in the Air Force prior to joining the Texas A&M University staff, KBTX reported. He is a highly decorated veteran and has completed academic fellowships at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Syracuse University, and Johns Hopkins University. He is also a graduate of Harvard University’s General Manager Program.

The general was born in San Antonio and holds a bachelor's degree from the U.S. Air Force Academy and a master’s degree from Webster University, according to his university biography. He was the Air Force’s 20th chief of staff and has commanded forces in Europe and the North American Treaty Organization’s Air Command at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.